Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by farrago:

Average pour yields close to a half a glass of foam, settle initially around two fingers, bigger bubbles give it airiness which gets it to then settle around a finger plus before resuming dissolve down to the surface and just a few islands of foam left, creates close to no lacing. Cloudy bronzed colored liquid, like is was tanning with Bain de Soleil on, fades to yellow at the rims, bubbles close to visibly absent. The nose has a rubber scent, like a new car mat or something, then maple and cinnamon, caraway seeds, spiced oranges, pancake batter, very light hint of bacon fat or sweet smokiness, no noticeable fruit presence, trails off quickly without much length. Medium-bodied, lack of carbonation helps it seem heavier and thicker on the tongue. More baked ham and pork than true bacon, the molasses and maple obvious. Orange rind, baking spices, pecans, minor pine and floral accents. The smokiness lacks concentration and thus it’s missing lift. Likewise, kind of expected it to be sweeter with more depth to the maple flavoring. Not horrible but uninspired and uninspiring.

More User Reviews:

Wow. Worst beer I've ever tried. A friend bought a bottle of this in Whitefish, Mont. The pink bottle sat unopened in the back of the fridge for two or three months. Being a vegetarian, I refused to drink it when my friend offered it to me.

One night, I found myself beer-less --- nary a PBR in the fridge, even.

I looked at the pink bottle. OK, I'll give it a try. Opened it, shared a glass with my friend. After a few sips I poured my glass out onto the grass in the back yard. My friend soon followed. The entire remainder of the bottle got dumped.

Let me be clear -- I don't waste beer, ever, on principle. I will happily drink even Milwaukee's Best.

But this beer ... oh man. It is an exceptional beer in that it is so bad.

C avg (up from a D+ 2 reviews prior)? I think people are knocking down their scores because of some predisposition against Rogue. If the point is to make a beer that tastes like Voodoo’s infamous bacon maple bar, Rogue succeeds. Opens with whiffs of general smokiness and specific mapliness. First swallow is thick maple spread fleshed out with suckerpunch of bacon, but is, I suppose, OTT (over the top) due to ample amounts of not one, not two, but three types of smoked malt (cherrywood, beechwood, and hickory) with applewood smoked bacon rounding out the corners. Only with the aftertaste does the vanilla appear and alchemize that maple flavor into more of a powder sugary maple frosting befitting a doughnut.

The fact is, if you like the donuts, and you like crazy ass beers, this one achieves its objective. If you know you don’t like Rauchbiers or dessert beers, you should stay far, far away and refrain from reviewing, just like I’d never review a Helles, Kolsch, or even a straightforward Amber.

Between the small batch size, flashy pepto-pink bottle, and the fact that you're going to share this with at least a few others, it is easily worth the lucky $13 price tag.

Purchased as a "beer of the week" special at a local liquor store. After hearing the name "Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale", I had to give it a try. Pours a dense amber color with a bit of haze and lots of carbonation bubbles. Decent sized head that didn't last for too long. The smell was amazing. Seriously, it smelled absolutely delicious - like ripe, smoked bacon that had been covered in maple syrup. Like waking up in a cabin, early on a Saturday morning and someone is already in the kitchen, cooking bacon and maple pancakes. Hints of wheat and malt in the background, but the bacon-maple smell dominates, and it is amazing.

Unfortunately, that's where things head south. The taste is bad. Really bad. Especially after having such high expectations after the beautiful nose it gives - just SUCH a let down. The beer barely tastes of bacon or maple at all, rather all you can taste is carbonation and smoke. It was like carbonated liquid smoke with maybe a hint of malt and caramel in the background. But the smoked flavor was so intense that it was harsh, dry, and did not feel good on the back of the throat. Body was thin and had too much carbonation to be enjoyable.

All in all, one of the worst beers I've tried. Perhaps the disappointment is magnified by the fact that the beer, in theory, sounds, and smells, delicious. It is everything BUT that. One of the only beers I couldn't finish. Very upsetting.